Hello, all your readers of the Ork Board. We in the Project Section of the community would like to see some fresh members in our ranks. To become involved,post here,or PM me or Arcas for information. An example article would also be nice to see what your style of writing is.Thank you for taking the time to read this.Hope you will become involved.Qui-Gon Jinn

Edit by Gutstikk:This thread will be the place where I store articles submitted by users who can't access the Ork project board. I'll link to the start of each article from this post, so that readers needn't hunt through this thread for specific articles. This should also make things easier for Qui-Gon to find once completed. Until such time as the frontpage is fixed, it is unlikely the Ork Project board will attract much attention, and since access is limited all it does is remove good stuff from visibility.

If you've written a batrep that's pretty impressive, PM me a link and I'll patch it into the batrep page so the things don't get lost.

Most everyone knows that the Orks excel in close assault. Many posts have been made supporting the arguement that point for point, nothing defeats your basic ork boyz in close combat. While this is all fine and good, variety IS the spice of life and a little fire support to soften up the enemy before the charge is not a bad idea. The purpose of this article is to help players identify the most cost effective way to add some fire support to their armies. The article will be divided into two parts as follows:

The first part of the article will focus on the effectiveness of the various weapon systems divided by the point cost of fielding them. Things that will be considered are Ballistic Skill, Rate of Fire, Weapon Strength, Armor Penetration, and Blast Radius (if any). These stats will be used to calculate the average number of kills each weapon can produce against four categories of enemy units:

This last category is also supposed to give representation to Monstrous Creatures, though for those the numbers will represent unsaved wounds rather than casualties (since Monstrous Creatures are mult-wound models). Things that will be mentioned, but not factored into my equations: Weapon Range, Unit Mobility, Unit Durability, FOC Slots.

You will notice that I have elected not to factor vehicles (as targets) into this project. I chose to exclude them because I feel that the most effective ways to deal with them are relatively obvious. Charging with Powerclaws, Lootas, and Tankbustas are pretty well documented as solutions to enemy vehicles, with an honorable mention to Deffkoptas with Twin-Linked Rokkits. Rather than double (and then some) my workload by adding vehicles into my tables, I have chosen to focus on troops, as this will help people identify the types of fire support units that will provide them the most benefit when dealing with a particularly troublesome (or perhaps the most common) enemy they face.

Also, please be aware that due to several weapon systems having complex variables that affect their efficiency (variable weapon strength, AP, etc.) I did NOT include every weapon or unit in this article. Lootas made the cut because its easy enough to assume they will AVERAGE 2 shots per turn, but things like the Shokk Attack Gun, Snazzgun and Zzap Gun have more variables than I have time to deal with at present. In the future, if I have more time and decide to update this article, I will go back and work through those variables in order to provide more complete information.

The second part of the article will evaluate the efficiency of these units based on the financial cost (in U.S. Dollars) of purchasing them. While the first part of the article provides the most critical information to the gamer, the second part will provide valuable information to those of us on a budget. Prices will be based off the GW website, in order to ensure a universal standard.

The first step to finding out which units are most cost effective for providing fire support is determining how effective each of the weapon systems available is against the various categories of targets. For easy reference, I will provide this data in a table format. Weapon systems are listed alphabetically, with each column of numbers representing how effective those weapons are against each of the four target categories. The three most effective weapons in each category will have their numbers highlighted to make them easier to identify.

WEAPON SYSTEM

GEQ

MEQ

TEQ

WEQ

Big Shoota (BS 2)

0.83

0.22

0.11

0.11

Big Shoota (BS 3)

1.25

0.33

0.17

0.17

Big Shoota (BS 2, T-L)

1.39

0.37

0.19

0.19

Boomgun

5.42

5.42

0.90

3.61

Burna

2.67

0.66

0.33

0.22

Dakkagun

0.83

0.22

0.11

0.11

Deffgun

0.56

0.18

0.09

0.15

Grot Blasta

0.17

0.06

0.03

0.03

Grotzooka

5.83

1.94

0.97

1.17

Kannon (Frag)

2.33

0.58

0.29

0.19

Kannon (Krak)

0.42

0.42

0.07

0.28

Killcannon

5.42

5.42

0.90

2.89

Kustom Mega Blasta (BS 2)

0.28

0.28

0.19

0.19

Kustom Mega Blasta (BS 3)

0.42

0.42

0.28

0.28

Lobba

2.92

0.78

0.39

0.39

Rokkit Launcha (BS 2)

0.28

0.28

0.05

0.19

Rokkit Launcha (BS 3)

0.42

0.42

0.07

0.28

Rokkit Launcha (BS 2, T-L)

0.46

0.46

0.08

0.31

Scorcha

3.33

0.89

0.44

0.44

Shoota

0.30

0.11

0.06

0.04

As you can see, without factoring in the cost of purchasing the units that carry these weapons, by far the most effective are the high strength blast weapons. It should also be noted that the units that can carry these weapons (Looted Wagons, Killa Kans and Battle Wagons) are all Heavy Support choices, meaning they can only be taken in limited numbers, and must compete with each other for space in the army.

Next we need to know how much it costs to field these weapon systems. Below I have listed each weapon system, followed by the units that can field them for the lowest point cost, and how much that cost is per weapon, and which section of the FOC the unit comes from. This last piece of information is there simply for the player's reference; it does not directly effect the efficiency of the unit, but it will be good to know for the sake of balancing which units are taken.

Now I will combine the data from the first table with the data in the list above, and provide you with an new table that will reflect the (point) cost effectiveness of each unit. They will be listed in the same order as before, though now the description will change to reflect the unit rather than just the weapon. For each of the four categories of targets, I will highlight the three most cost effective units. I will also use color code for easy reference. Troops will be Green, Elites will be Blue, Fast Attack will be Red, and Heavy Support will be Yellow.

***All the Numerical Values in this Table have been multiplied by 10 in order to reduce the number of Zeros I had to enter. THE RELATIVE VALUE of the Results is UNCHANGED.***

WEAPON SYSTEM (UNIT)

GEQ

MEQ

TEQ

WEQ

Big Shoota (Looted Wagon)

0.369

0.098

0.049

0.049

Big Shoota (Killa Kan)

0.313

0.083

0.043

0.043

Big Shoota (Warbuggie)

0.463

0.123

0.063

0.063

Boomgun (Looted Wagon)

0.516

0.516

0.086

0.344

Burna (Burna Boyz)

1.780

0.440

0.220

0.147

Dakkagun (Warbikers)

0.332

0.088

0.044

0.044

Deffgun (Lootas)

0.373

0.120

0.060

0.100

Grot Blasta (Gretchin)

0.425

0.150

0.075

0.075

Grotzooka (Killa Kan)

1.296

0.431

0.216

0.260

Kannon-Frag (Big Gunz)

1.165

0.290

0.145

0.095

Kannon-Krak (Big Gunz)

0.210

0.210

0.035

0.140

Killcannon (Battlewagon)

0.361

0.361

0.060

0.193

Kustom Mega Blasta (Burnas/Lootas)

0.112

0.112

0.076

0.076

Kustom Mega Blasta (Killa Kan)

0.076

0.076

0.051

0.051

Lobba (Big Gunz)

1.168

0.312

0.156

0.156

Rokkit Launcha (Tank Bustas)

0.187

0.187

0.033

0.127

Rokkit Launcha (Killa Kan)

0.084

0.084

0.014

0.056

Rokkit Launcha (Warbuggie)

0.131

0.131

0.023

0.089

Scorcha (Killa Kan/Warbuggie)

0.833

0.223

0.110

0.110

Shoota (Ork Boyz)

0.500

0.183

0.100

0.067

As you can see, the most cost effective fire support units are (not surprisingly) Heavy Support choices. In addition, they are all blast or template weapons, which helps compensate for the generally poor Ballistic Skill of the Orks. The Killa Kan armed with a Grotzooka deserves special mention, because it placed in the top 3 for every category of target! It is also worth mentioning that although Burnas made the top 3 in every category but one, the limited range on their weapon systems is a significant factor. In order to use them more effectively, they need to be mounted. However, even if you factored in the cost of a transport (Trukk), as long as you use its full capacity the Burnas would still make the cut! Of course, trying to position them so you can actually fire all of those Burnas without hitting your own guys will not be easy. Moving on: Lootas, though less cost effective than Burna Boyz, have great range and are better against vehicles, making them worth mentioning in spite of the math. Shoota Boyz (and to a lesser degree Gretchin) also deserved to be mentioned, because unlike the other units presented in these tables, they count as a scoring unit. They do perform fairly well in fire support as well. Lastly, I would like to give an honorable mention to Deffkoptas. Although they are not the most cost effective choice, their mobility gives them significant flexibility that these numbers cannot account for.

Now that we know which fire support units are most cost effective in terms of points, its time (for those of us who are on a budget) to find out how to provide our armies with fire support that is financially cost effective. Part one of this article is a great tool for helping people get the most out of their army, but part two is where this article will live up to its name, giving you "More Dakka for your Dolla", or whatever currency you happen to use.

The chart below takes the data collected in Table 1 of the first part of this article, and divides each value by the cost (in U.S. Dollars, as of December 2008) of putting that model or unit on the table. I originally considered using the values from Table 2 for these calculations, but I realized there would be a huge bias towards infantry models if I did so. I figure the only way to have a truely balanced evaluation is to keep the financial efficiency calculations separate from the points efficiency calculations.

At this time there is not an "official" Looted Wagon model on GW's website, so I have picked the Imperial Guard Leman Russ Battle Tank as the model that will be converted to represent it. Additionally, they have no Killa Kan with a Grotzooka, so I will use the price of the other Killa Kans (which are all the same) to make the necessary calculations.

***All the Numerical Values in this Table have been multiplied by 10 in order to reduce the number of Zeros I had to enter. THE RELATIVE VALUE of the Results is UNCHANGED.***

WEAPON SYSTEM (UNIT)

GEQ

MEQ

TEQ

WEQ

Big Shoota (Looted Wagon)

0.415

0.110

0.055

0.055

Big Shoota (Killa Kan)

0.568

0.150

0.077

0.077

Big Shoota (Warbuggie)

0.556

0.148

0.076

0.076

Boomgun (Looted Wagon)

1.365

1.365

0.225

0.903

Burna (Burna Boyz)

6.675

1.650

0.825

0.550

Dakkagun (Warbikers)

0.712

0.189

0.094

0.094

Deffgun (Lootas)

1.400

0.450

0.225

0.375

Grot Blasta (Gretchin)

1.133

0.400

0.200

0.200

Grotzooka (Killa Kan)

2.650

0.882

0.441

0.532

Kannon-Frag (Big Gunz)

1.371

0.341

0.171

0.112

Kannon-Krak (Big Gunz)

0.247

0.247

0.041

0.165

Killcannon (Battlewagon)

1.084

1.084

0.180

0.578

Kustom Mega Blasta (Burnas/Lootas)

0.140

0.140

0.095

0.095

Kustom Mega Blasta (Killa Kan)

0.191

0.191

0.127

0.127

Lobba (Big Gunz)

1.718

0.459

0.229

0.229

Rokkit Launcha (Tank Bustas)

0.467

0.467

0.083

0.317

Rokkit Launcha (Killa Kan)

0.191

0.191

0.032

0.127

Rokkit Launcha (Warbuggie)

0.153

0.153

0.023

0.093

Scorcha (Killa Kan/Warbuggie)

1.111

0.297

0.147

0.147

Shoota (Ork Boyz)

1.364

0.500

0.273

0.182

Interestingly, it appears that the units that are most efficient in the fire support role financially are the same as the units that are most efficient in terms of points. There are a few differences between the tables, but overall the best units for the job stand out on both.

Conclusion:

After a substantial number-crunching session, we can see from the numbers in the tables provided that if you are a Warboss looking for a little Dakka to support your WAAAGH!, most of the best units for the job can be found in the Heavy Support section of your Army List. However, these tables are just a tool for your reference. It is up to the Warboss to ultimately decide which units make the cut. If a particular unit is to slow or to fragile for your taste, you can always substitute something that suits you better. This remains true if you need to substitute a less efficent unit because of limited FOC slots for the units in question. If you run out of Heavy Support slots but you still want more Dakka in the army, refer to these charts and pick a unit from another part of the FOC that is as efficient as possible. Refer to the last paragraph in part one for a few suggestions.

yeah I try to be as active as possible but im outnumbered by all the senior members lolz...And all the new ppl are around for about 5-10 posts then they run off... That saddens me Orks are my only true 40K army and this board is pretty active, but could be more lively. Some more tactics would be good (mine always fail so dont expect to hear from me) and less questions on army lists that are like 250pts big, but a question on a big game or some constructive crit from other members on different aspects of the Ork codex as well. I started a thread that was getting a lot of hits, but it got locked for whatever reason!!!!!!

From the day that young boy explodes his first head, his life is a turbulent stream of glorious violence and all that is Green. If a Warboss is the head of a Waaagh! and the Mekboy is the brains, then the Weirdboy would be the heart. He channels the energy that fuels every boyz lust for battle. He feels the motion of the fight, and expresses the rage and excitement that surrounds him.

The life of a Weirdboy is a short and brutal one, resulting in a great rarity. And this even is portrayed in their use on the table. Few players use them, and hopefully this article will inspire my fellow brethren to not leave the heart out of their army.

Weirdboy Physiology

The Weirdboys that survive to maturity carry the stature of a Nob. For the power of the Waaagh! strengthens him and elevates him beyond Boy-hood

The Weirdboy has the same stat line as a nob. Which is what makes him seem so underwhelming at first. He doesn't have the beef of the Warboss, nor the toys of the Mekboy. And his entry seems offly sparse. However, this belittles his volume of built in abilities. For a mere 20 points more than a Mekboy you get an interested assortment of psychic powers. And fully kitted out is the cheapest (still effective) of the HQ's we have to select from. Leaving plenty of room for other toys in the army.

However, one must realize that a Weirdboy will never go against his nature and not do weird things on the battlefield. He will never play the same way twice. One battle he may pound the opponent into the ground with devastating shooting attacks. Another he boosts his fellows to astonishing levels of violence. Or he completely lets loose and rearranges the field of battle, or blows up in a rain of gore and green bits. And most likely will do all three of these in a chaotic fashion. Elevating one to a Warp Ead might add a bit of control to the weirdness, but a general should never relly on a consistent pattern of play. This would undermine the strengths that a Weirdboy brings to a battle. For it is this chaos that you must embrace and throw the enemy down a similar path. Your comfort with the randomness will be your strength while your opponent struggles to get a handle on your strategy.

From Weirdness comes Victory!

The Eb and Flow of a Waaagh!

When the Waaagh! begins, the Weirdboy has little choice in being swept up in it. How it will manifest is unknown even to him.

The powers offered to the Weirdboy are an odd bag. I will go through them one by one, and hopefully expand upon them. Offering up my opinions, ideas, and general feeling of each. Fortunately the weirdboy gets them all, and doesn't pay any extra for them. This is about the only consistent thing you will find about the weirdboy.

General Power NotesYou determine your powers at the start of the Shooting phase. But remember, you don't have to use it at the start. You just find out what power you will or will not be able to use that power. And you have to use that power. One final fantastic feature is the auto hitting, who cares about BS 2 if you auto hit!

'EadbangerA Weirdboyz first and only real negative power. This basically frazzles your own Weirdboy and any unlucky enough to be next to him. Keep this in mind when you are moving him and his unit. Keep him in front of the unit, keeping a 2" gap between him and the unit. This will hopefully minimize the impact of it. If you are lucky enough to be close to the enemy, you could even catch some of them. Remember, the blast doesn't scatter, it centers on him and then resolves. Also, these are shooting wounds, so you don't have to wound the Weirdboy himself, but pop the poor fellows that are with him. The only unit in the army that can really stand up to this landing is Meganobz and a tooled up nob squad. But remember once you are in close combat, the negative of this roll turns into a positive. Turning your attacks into power weapon strikes.

FrazzleThis in opinion scares the life out of MEQ players. Many players often forget that this automatically hits. That means you place the template how you like, and it is there guaranteed. You can figure on 2-3 hits minimum from this power, and unless it is TEQ, it will not get to use its armor. The decent strength of the attack means against T4 or lower you are wounding on a 2+. So you can pretty much count on inflicting 2 wounds with it. And being moderate range means what ever you target will most likely not have cover. This power is one of the many reasons that you should try and keep the Weirdboy out front and unobstructed, so that the opponent won't get a cover save. The pinning aspect of the power is just icing on the cake. But don't expect much out of it, not many things in 40k will actually fail a pinning check in 5th edition. For anti-infantry this power is great.

ZzapThis is the Weirdboy doing his best to imitate a rail gun. It has good range so it can reach the targets you want, namely vehicles. Strength doesn't get much higher either, so it can wound those monstrous creatures as well. It's AP isn't the best, but it still beats TEQ just fine. And the amazing part of it being Melta. Anything short of a Monolith will cringe at a melta gun with this kind of range. When in melta range, you are looking at an average penetration roll of 17! If the AP was one lower, it would be the deadliest anti-tank shot in the game. As with all the powers though, don't rely on your Weirdboy to be your anti-tank. But rejoice when such a pure out pouring of Waaagh! energy happens.

WarpathThis is the mixed bag of all the powers available. It can be a waist if it pops up when you can't assault, and makes a general wanna cry wasting so many extra attacks. But woo to the enemy that stands before a horde of Orks on the warpath. The results of this power when it works are astounding. This power makes the most sense in large boy squads, where the most bang for the buck is received. If this power is up and running, charging into a group of genestealers is still viable, for even with heavy losses the bonus attack will make up for them. And even if the Weirdboy meets his demise, this power keeps on trucking right until your next turn, meaning you will have those extra attacks in your enemies phase as well!

'Ere We GoThis power can either be a blessing, a curse, or something in between. It can deliver a shoota squad into shooting range of a juicy target. Or it could throw the whole unit into reserves. The larger the squad the Weirdboy is with, the riskier this power is. Remember your footprint matters with deep striking. Also, keep in mind that you can't assault after using this power. If you use this power, and the opponent has templates or pie plates, use a run action once you deep strike. You will give up shooting, but will save you the nightmare of flamers or battle cannons gobbling up your entire unit. This power will also rip you out of a combat that you are stuck in with, for better or for worse. To many this is almost a negative power, but I see it as the epitome of a Weirdboyz randomness, and the ability to throw a curve ball at your opponent. You could end up taking an objective or threatening an opponent.

Waaagh!The most appealing power to many who field the Weirdboy. But with the advent of 5th edition a lot of this powers power has dimished. Rarely will a first turn Waaagh! benefit anything but a trukk boy squad. However, this gives you plenty of reason to have at least one Trukk Squad in your army. A first turn Waaagh! with a charge from a Trukk squad can shift the momentum dramatically in your favor. Also, this power can lend you additional Waaagh!s through out a game. Which could mean far more assaulting, which is always the best for Orks.

Where a Weirdboy can be at his Weirdest

Those that travel with a Weirdboy consistently find themselves a bit Weird themselves. Raw Waaagh! energy can be a hell of a drug.

Picking who your Weirdboy will run with is crucial to getting the most out of him. I will go through each unit and discuss the merits of placing a Weirdboy with them.

By His LonesomeThis is in my opinion the worse thing you could ever do. Not only does he feel lonely missing out on his mob rules, but he is extremely vulnerable. The heart of an army can't survive with out the body.

NobzA crew of fluffy Madboyz are in fact nobz. But sometimes it isn't always the best to travel with them. The plus side is that they make for an excellent body guard unit for the Weirdboy. With tons of wounds, the addition of a painboy, and plenty of upgrades they can keep the heart of the army alive for a good time. However, this can be a giant point sink to tool up a nob squad. On the other hand you are already saving points by using a Weirdboy, so using them hear isn't a waist. Remember, your nob squad needs to be 10 man, so that you get that very important leadership bonus. The Weirdboy can also become the nobz biggest liablity though. A 'Ead Bang could cost you some very expensive models in the unit, and a 'Ere We Go could move your best unit into a poor location. And worse of all, if your Weirdboy uses a shooting power, you can't run. And you always have to use the power, so this could slow down the unit in general. Running a Weirdboy with Nobz is moderately good.

MeganobzA small grouping of Meganobz can benifit from the 'Ere we go power the most. Getting them across the field far quickly than any other method. However, if you want a leadership bonus you are looking at spending an enormous amount of points. The shoota's they carry do mix well with the shooting powers of the Weirdboy, but this means your not running. And with Meganobz being slow as it is, this can be a real liability. The good news is that a Ead Bang won't do much to the unit. Overall this is less than ideal mob to run a Weirdboy with

Burna BoyzI have mixed feelings about this unit. It can provide the numbers a Weirdboy needs, and with 3 mek boyz with guns the shooting powers mix well. However, leardership and fragility becomes a major issue. You don't have access to a Bosspole with a Weirdboy, so if this unit breaks it is bad news. Burna Boyz are sub-par usually, a Weirdboy doesn't bring much to this unit. I don't recommend this combination

TankbustasThis can be a very interesting combination. They can provide the numbers and Pole that the Weirdboy needs. But they also bring along that horrible glory hog rule that the Weirdboy will have to abide by. However, a timely 'Ere we go can be amazing for this unit. And the Weirdboyz shooting powers fit right in. An odd combination, but not a terrible one. You will need to be creative to get the most out of it

Lootas or KommandosNO, NO, NO, NO, and NO! These units don't want a Weirdboy with them. Neither benefit from his presence and drag him down if stuck with them.

Ork BoyzAh, this is a Weirdboyz true home. Huge numbers to fuel his powers, and solid leadership from a nob. A shoota boy squad is the most ideal combination. They mesh with his shooting powers very well. Slugga Boyz still prefer to get a run in, but if you throw in big shootas or rokkits it can work just fine. The biggest danger to the unit is 'Ere we go, as your foot print will be massive if the unit is large. And if a weird boy is with them, it should be at least 25-30 boy strong at least. This is the unit I highly recommend for your Weirdboy to run with

GretchinThese guys are just too weedy to bother running a Weirdboy with.

Storm BoyzAs much as I wish a Weirdboy could fly, he can't, so doesn't mesh at all. Not to mention these rebellious Orks are CONFORMISTS!!!! The dirtiest of dirty words.

FlashgitzNow this is an interesting combination. These nobz with guns actually mesh nicely with a Weirdboy, better than Nobz do. Their guns mean that they prefer to shoot than run, allowing the Weirdboy to express himself with out the guilt. And can provide the sturdiness that a Weirdboy needs. The only thing lacking is a Pole, which can come from Badrukk if you are feeling like spending some points on this unit. Again this can be a point sink, but the Weirdboy is cheap, so you will have the points. I rate this matching as good as Nobz.

Archetypal ArmiesThe following I will discuss various Army archetypes and whether or not a Weirdboy should be present

Speed FreaksWeirdboyz are a bit of a waist in this type of army. He doesn't bring anything that speeds up the army, like a Warboss on a bike. Nor does he bring the defenses of a Mekboy with KFF. Overall a Weirdboy will feel out of place in this army.

Goff/DeffwingAgain, this army doesn't play to a Weirdboyz strength. The need of 2 warbosses to make nobz troop choices makes the Weirdboy a poor choice.

HordeThe Weirdboy feels right at home in this army. With so many boyz in battle the Waaagh! energy is at its purist. He has plenty of boy mobs to run with, and can even hop from one mob to another. And those points you are saving on a Weirdboy means you will be able to buy more boyz. This is a good choice for a Weirdboy

DreadbashThis army is one of the worse choices for a Weirdboy to run with. The lack of boyz means the Weirdboy has no one to really mob up with.

Mixed BagArmies that are a smattering of different units. These armies can actually play to the strength of a Weirdboy. Since there is no obvious point of focus to these armies, the randomness of the Weirdboy fits right in. This is the type of army that I play personally and recommend the most for a Weirdboy.

Not every Weirdboy makes the most of his weirdness, those that due can raise a Waaagh! on their own.

Weirdboyz are about as close to a finesse unit as orks get. They are not blunt tools like a Warboss, nor obvious war band support like a Big Mek. This is what turns off new Ork players the most. The use of a Weirdboy isn't always evident, and getting the most out of him is even deeper down the rabbit hole. I will attempt to gleam upon my brethren the uses a Weirdboy can play in their Waaagh!

Warphead or Normal Head?When it comes to picking what upgrades to chose for the Weirdboy, we don't have to agonize over it. Namely because we only have one to pick from. The choice narrows down to be a Warphead Weirdboy or not. The upgrade is a 50% point increase and on paper doesn't seem to return much. It doesn't boost any stats or introduce new abilities. All it does is allow for your Weirdboy to reroll his power. But this is deceptively simplistic. The implications of being able to re-roll the power can be drastic. If you are looking for a super cheap effective HQ, you can skip this upgrade. If your Weirdboy is playing anything beyond a cheap purchase, then it is absolutely mandatory. The benefits can be amazing. If you are seeking an early Waaagh! result for your war band, then this will increase your odds of success. It will also allow you to potentially avoid the bad powers, like Ead Banger or Ere We Go. And don't forget, even with the upgrade the Weirdboy makes for a cheap HQ. I highly highly recommend this for anyone who is seriously thinking about using Weirdboyz.

When to use your WarpheadThe ability to re-roll the power rolled for the turn is a mighty appealing choice. However, one must weigh the consequences of doing so. The only time I believe that the re-roll should be automatic is when your roll the Ead Bang power, since there is almost no positive to this power. But in other situations it can be trickier. You must remember that if a power seems a waist right now, to re-roll might end up yielding a far worse result. You need to weight the risk vs reward before leaping for that die. You may have wanted frazzle to deal with some MEQs, but rolled a Zzap instead, and then choose to re-roll hoping for that Frazzle and end up with a Ere We Go! When considering the re-roll, look to see if the current power offered has a use. Ask these questions:

Will it kill or aid in killing something? If yes, then the power will be earning points back for the Weirdboy. If no, then another power might be better

Is it gonna hurt them more than me? This follows in line with the previous question. If double yes, then probably best not to re-roll. If Yes and no, then better off re-rolling. If no and yes, this is the middle ground and re-rolling or not is matter of mood. If no and no, then definitely re-roll!

Do you feel lucky? Well, do you....punk? Hopefully this is a yes, as Orks should always feel lucky. ^_^ But if your dice are betraying you, then always be wary of the re-roll.

Would another power prove pivotal at this juncture? This relies heavily on the previous question. Cause you need luck on your side to play a gambit with a Weirdboy. But should it work, you will swear by Weirdboyz for the remainder of your glorious years

You should always weight all these pro's and con's before picking up the dice. For you could end up cursing yourself if you give up that Zzap in favor of a power that falls flat.

Bringers of the Waaagh!I have seen many generals attempt to bring two Warphead Weirdboyz to the table to attempt to get that first turn Waaagh! (My math is subject to being wrong ^_^) But even with two Weirdboyz you only have a .611111 chance of rolling that Waaagh! And this falls into the most common trap players who field Weirdboyz suffer from, relying on a single power in the Weirdboyz arsenal. In fact, fielding a Weirdboy in hopes of exploiting a single power at all is a fatal mistake. If you are going to field a Weirdboy, you must be prepared to make use of all and any results that occur during the battle. It is okay to shoot for this, but be ready for it not to happen. If you walk into a game expecting Multitudes of a single result from a random source, be prepared to be sourly mistaken.

Making the most out of ChaosThe key to getting the most out of your Weirboy is to try and make sure he is in a position through out the game that will be able to maximize any result on his power table. Now this is obviously almost impossible due to the complete unpredictability of the game in general. But in a perfect world, Your Weirdboy would be in the front of a large squad at least 2" appart, with an unobstructed shot on a Landraider with in 18", a nice clear landing location near a vital target available on the table, and a tightly packed unit of MEQ only an 1" away from your weirdboy. In this situation there can be no wrong doing of powers ^_^ However, dream situations like this don't come to pass often enough, if at all. But you should always try. The more of the list that you make useful the happier you and your Weirdboy will be.

How to handle the inevitable back fireAt some point your Weirdbaoy is going to do something you definitely don't want him to do. Namely, Ead Bang or Ere We Go. These are the only 2 possibly negative powers you can get. There isn't much you can do about the Ead Bang, besides hoping the enemy happens to be next to you. However, don't forget that it is a shooting attack so you don't have to take the wound on your Weirdboy. And hopefully you have been giving your Weirdboy some distance so the most hits you should take is 2-3. The Ere We Go result is a bit trickier. Namely cause it could do something good, but most likely won't. First and foremost you need to determine if your opponent has templates or blast weapons. If he does, and they can hit your boyz, you need to use a run move to minimize casualties. Remember you can still run after the Ere We Go result because this is not a shooting power. Second you need to figure on a location that will benefit you later in game. Don't use this to pop in next to your opponents gun line only to find yourself target less once you have killed it. And avoid difficult terrain at all possible, as this will become dangerous terrain for every boy that ends up in it. Which could cost you a number of boyz

Building a Waaagh! for your WeirdboyzIf you want to build an army that revolves around your Weirdboy, then this is what I recommend. First step is set aside the points for the Weirdboy(s) that you intend to purchase. Then proceed to build one unit that will serve as the Weirboy(s) escort. Then set that unit aside. Build the remainder of your army with the remaining points, and make sure it is completely independent of the Weirdboy + Escort. The reason for this is that the Weirdboyz + Escort can't be expected to fill just one job. They will act differently every game, so building an army that revolves around a random unit will prove futile. If your army can stand by itself with out the Weirdboy + Escort, then you will have no fear of any randomness that is inserted by your Weirdboy(s). This will allow for the Weirdboy(s) to not constrain themselves during the fight and let lose, maximizing their potential. You will find that each aspect of your army (anti-tank/anti-infantry/ect) blustered by what ever the Weirdboy chooses to do that turn. If instead you had built your army with the intention of using your Weirdboy to play anti-infantry, and he ends up doing nothing but Anti-tank powers, you will find yourself with a weakened aspect. However, if you do it my way, your opponent will be the one being forced to react to randomly strengthened aspects. He might screen his infantry with tanks one moment because your Weirdboy is laying out his infantry, only to find himself on the receiving end of a powerful anti-tank gun. Now you have chaos on yourside ^_^

Winning WeirdnessWinning with a Weirdboy centric army is a difficult one. It will not play the same as your run of the mill ork army. Many ork armies rely on their HQs to boost their armies effectiveness, whether it be by a KFF or a threatening Green Torpedo. However, Weird Armies rely on no one aspect. The HQ in this army will not be blustering the overall army in the usual fashions if at all. Instead your HQ will simply be another tool at your disposal. I am not going to say that Weird Armies make for strong ones, in fact in my opinion they are the weaker than most armies. And you will lose more than normal. However, once you get the hang of it, it will make for a wonderfully wacky winning army. It will just take more practice than normal. Many people field a Weirdboy and then immediately toss them to the shelf because they didn't win. Much like Weirdboys in the fluff, rare are the mature Weirdboy Players. Be resiliant and you will become one of the few, the zany, the Weird!

The old Zog is our named Weirdboy. Coming in at a 170% the cost of a Warp Head, he makes one nervous. He is only slightly more resilient than the normal Weirdboy, having one higher toughness and wounds. And at this cost not having an invulnerable save or even a real save at all is nerve wracking. But the old Zog packs a serious punch.

Zogy (As I like to call him) has the same powers as your generic Warp Head, but he has an alternate power that he can make use of. And it is an Independent Character killer. With some luck you can reduce foes like Calgar to pathetic squigs. Many players take him for this purpose, however, there is a point of caution behind it. First is that it doesn't work against some older armies, namely any army that offers retinues. Characters in retinues do not have independent character status, so they are immune to being targeted by this power. Also, this is a shooting power, so it cannot be used in assaults. And tyranids don't even have an independent character (well, broodlord but how often is he with out a retinue). So the point is don't take Zogy as an independent character assassin. See it as a bonus, not a purpose

What is the strangest thing about Zogy is that his strength lies in assaults. He gets a potential huge number of attacks. And can even out attack Thrakka himself. And he wounds on a 2+ thanks to poison, and against anything toughness 3 or 4 (on the charge) this becomes a rerollable wound. On top of it all he strikes at initiative so he doesn't have to survive till last. But assault is also a dangerous place for Zogy. Being an independent character means he can be targeted specifically, and lacking any real armor or defense he can go down to even lowly Tau. And on top of this his initiative isn't that hot and his weapon skill is average. And to make it all worse, his true strength won't show up till round 2 of a fight, when he could potentially gain power weapon status. So to get the most out of his assault capabilities he needs to be placed in a unit with a pain boy, this will bolster his defense against everything but str 10 weapons and weapons that ignore armor. So running him with flash gitz or Nobs is the best.

A dirty, albeit expensive trick, is to have Mad Dok grant him a cybork body. And if they both run in a 30 boy shoota squad, this becomes a massively dangerous unit. Lashing out with powers and huge dakka, that is then backed up with a fearless assault can end even the most sturdy of assault units. And most enemies will go for mad dok before they will attack Zoggy, further increasing his survival rate. I have personally fielded this unit, and was a bit taken aback by the violence that it wrought upon my enemy.

Overall Zogy is an interesting choice for HQ. But unless you really support him heavily, you are better off with a Warp Head. Personally I use him often because I made a great conversion ^_^

Over the course of many games with my Orks since the new codex came out I’ve used Flash Gitz in almost every match. They’ve become a signature unit for me, though they are much loathed for their general ineffectiveness by the common Ork general. In this short article I’d like to highlight some of the ways in which to use Flash Gitz effectively. This article and the suggestions therein are based on my own experiences using Flash Gitz alongside a number of other units.

For starters, some things to realize about Flash Gitz. For the price they are actually better than Nobs on a unit to unit comparison. To grant standard Nobs the same armor save as Flash Gitz causes both models to cost the same points value on a model to model comparison, yet the Flash Gitz have some other useful abilities rolled into that cost which the Nobz do not have. On the other hand, the Nobs come with an extra attack over the Flash Gitz due to their basic weapon outload, and access to some very effective melee equipment. The straight cost comparison isn’t the final word, but I wanted to begin with pointing out that Flash Gitz are actually a bargain by the standards of Nobs.

Flash Gitz come with a fairly decent ranged weapon called a Snazzgun which, even without upgrades, is a threat to many of the more costly unit types. With upgrades these guns can be very dangerous to unwary opponents indeed! The unreliability of Orkish shooting coupled with the weapon’s unpredictable AP value, and then rolled into the 5th edition ruleset for cover saves go a long way to killing some of the gun’s effectiveness. Still, I’ve managed to bring down some very nice targets with this weapon alone, before they could wreak havoc in my lines. The real advantage is that even though you can’t depend on good rolls with the Snazzgun, your opponent can’t count on you to roll poorly.

The best bit of basic gear the Flash Gitz have is the Gitfinda. This essentially lets you premeasure during the shooting phase. I advocate firing with the Flash Gitz before firing with other units, since you can always select different targets should the Gitfinda prove you are out of range. It gives you an idea as to whether or not calling a Waaagh! is a good move that turn, or if you should wait and do it later.

Flash Gitz have the option of taking a Painboy, who loses the Snazzgun but offers some excellent unit benefits that are, in my opinion, always worth trading up for. He makes the unit a good deal more resilient which helps to compensate for their average ballistic skill and lack of a bosspole option. The painboy is also a major boon to any character that joins the unit, as it makes the character much more resilient as well.

This unit has no default transport options and uses up a heavy support slot, vying for other useful options for an Ork army. Fortunately their decent range and the ability to board other unit transports in 5th means this is not such a big issue. Furthermore, the range on their guns is decent enough that generally they can have a battlefield impact without the need of a transport to get them to their target.

Those are the basic things to know about Flash Gitz. Now it’s time to look at the unit in a little more depth.

Unit Synergies of Flash Gitz:

The most important thing this unit lacks is some hitting power for close combat and a boost to leadership. The Doc allows them to wound anything in the game but they really struggle against walkers in close combat, and have a heck of a time vs powerhouse characters or monstrous creatures due to their inability to bypass armor saves. Against other units they have all of the benefits of Nobz and will do a lot of damage to rank and filer units without assistance.

Generally I find the best option is to join an HQ to the squad. There are relatively few good options. The best in my opinion is a standard Warboss with a Powerklaw, Squig, Bosspole, and Cybork Body. This grants the squad some excellent leadership with bosspole benefits, the ability to shred other units in close combat, and the unit offers the Warboss protection from shooting attacks and Feel No Pain in assault.

A unit of Flash Gitz can be led by a Biker Boss if desired, who can boost their leadership earlier on as they advance but has the option to leave the unit and charge an enemy whom the Flash Gitz have softened up a little. A Biker Boss’s warbike has a gun which matches the basic Snazzgun in terms of target preference, and the added range of movement makes the Biker Boss a good interceptor for such a squad.

The next good option for the Flash Gitz is Old Zogwort, especially in a unit of 8 or more Flash Gitz. His shooting powers will generally dovetail their options, his deepstrike redeploy is actually beneficial in many cases, and he’s got a 50% chance of adding some nice and deadly CC power [though enemy Dreadnoughts are still a liability, the teleport exit at least offers some sort of alternative]. The other powers are generally helpful as well, with the exception of Frazzle [which is beneficial in combat], and Flash Gitz are capable of shrugging this drawback off. Zogwort also does not offer much in the way of leadership benefits, meaning you may want to dunp wounds onto Zogwort instead of the unit if possible.

A Big Mek is not really an ideal choice to lead the unit, unless it is armed with a Shokk Attack Gun and you deploy the Gitz far forwards. However, this sort of strategy entails certain risks that can be huge with a unit choice as expensive as Flash Gitz. A Big Mek just isn’t a good enough fighter to benefit the Flash Gitz so much in combat, and often times a KFF Mek is enough of a priority target for the opponent that the unit will get charged and demolished. Mega Armored bosses just slow the unit down in the long run, and Grotsnik makes the Flash Gitz incapable of firing their guns. Waaazdakka should generally be the leader of a Biker Force, where Flash Gitz don’t really contribute anything.

Flash Gitz can also be quite helpful in a Killkannon equipped Battlewagon. Both the Killkannon and the Snazzgun prefer the same sort of targets most of the time, and the Battlewagon helps keep the Flash Gitz out of close combat.

Generally, Flash Gitz should be a second-wave unit. If you are deploying the majority of your force on the table they will be able to deploy a bit behind them. Typically you will want to deploy them so that the Gitfinda is of good use to the rest of your units. Otherwise they can be deployed in reserve, especially if Zogwort is attached to the unit. They have the range to hit their targets pretty much as they enter the board, can deepstrike without too much risk, and are fierce enough to make a good counter-charger for enemy infantry that hits your lines early on.

Flash Gitz couple well with Shoota Boys and Gretchin. Gretchin stand in front of the Shoota Boyz, who do not care if they confer cover saves onto the enemy in most cases but benefit greatly from receiving one. The Flash Gitz can deploy in between two squads of Boys to protect their flanks, or to the flank of a squad of Shoota Boyz and a little behind. Grot Screens can move out of the way of the Flash Gitz before the Gitz shoot, and then run back in front of them to provide cover.

The reason to keep the Flash Gitz back a little is so that they can get the charge on enemy that reach your lines. A whole load of Nob attacks combined with Furious Charge will put a hurt on most opponents, and on the charge they strike at average speed meaning they have a chance to dent their enemy before they suffer casualties. Additionally the Gitfinda will let you know where the Shoota teams should be directing their firepower, or if they should risk assaulting via a Waaagh!

I can’t stress constant use of the Gitfinda enough – you paid for the upgrade, you should get as much mileage out of it as you can. However, the amount of mileage will vary depending on your opponent, so always be clear about this upgrade before the game begins or your opponent is likely to get upset!

Flash Gitz will generally want to have access to some charge lanes where possible. If advancing behind Gretchin, ensure there is enough room to walk between the Grots should the Grots find themselves pinned. Otherwise your Flash Gitz may find they can’t advance and have to offer up cover to the enemy where they might otherwise be able to fire freely! It can also be helpful to keep the grots behind the Gitz at the end of the movement phase, with enough room between the Gitz so that the Grots can run in between them and the enemy. Generally this requires ony a half inch between the two squads if they are interspersed, guaranteeing that the enemy must fire through the gretchin to hit the Flash Gitz. It will make the unit vulnerable to template weapons if moving in this manner. Surprisingly, this formation is excellent against blast weapons as relatively few models get caught in the blast and the gretchin models provide cover to the Flash Gitz! Also, a scatter is likely to toss the template far away from BOTH units.

If deepstriking, there is no reason to drop within 12” of anything dangerous. After all, the Flash Gitz have plenty of range on their guns! Instead, keep the unit safe so that deepstrike mishaps can be avoided. They are too large an investment to leave to the mercy of bad dice!

Shooting Strategies:

It is important to consider the “gating” mechanisms described above when using Flash Gitz, since about 50% of their shots during the course of a game can fire through Power Armor with impunity. Therefore, either keep them in lockstep with a small Grot formation or to the flank of a Shoota/Grot brigade. They can also be in the center of a Phalanx that “opens” during movement and “closes” at the end of the shooting phase.

When it comes to targeting it is important to be realistic in your assessment. A unit of Flash Gitz is likely to hit less than 5 times in a single round of shooting. These shots are best directed at something they are likely to damage. Light Vehicles of AV 10 make good targets, as do lone ICs, tac squads, enemy bike formations, Monstrous Creatures of up to T6 that are at the outside edge of their range, or AV 12 vehicles that need their guns silenced are all decent targets, but require the Shootier upgrade. If you’ve taken their unit upgrade character and have some ammo runts along with the Blasta upgrade, power-armored foes and terminators become better options by far. If you’ve gone this route keep the squad smaller, since they’ll be a lot more expensive.

Keep the Flash Gitz in locations that have a good expanse with no cover between you and the enemy. Many opponents are unwilling to advance in the open since cover is so prevalent in 5th edition. This can slow your opponent down, and prove helpful in getting into position.

The Gitz are primarily good at softening up a hard target, since generally they don’t finish a single target off in a single round. This makes them ideal for picking on any unit you plan on charging, since the enemy is likely to still have a unit after your guns have done their damage. I can’t count the number of times where my Shoota Boyz or my Lootas have been too effective at softening an enemy up, allowing the opponent to get the charge on one of my units or mow it down with close ranged fire after they fail their charge. Flash Gitz can expect 1-2 wounds from most things they target regardless of what the target is, with a few obvious exceptions, and will tend to generate more. So put those wounds where they make a difference, and avoid rank and filers where possible.

Don’t be afraid to give up shooting for a run move, especially on a Waaagh turn. The best feature of the gun is its potential damage, and definitely not the damage it tends to deal more regularly. Your opponent can’t count on them having a bad roll when positioning his units, but if you can get a good assault off at the cost of firing, go with the more reliable option. Also remember to run away when need be. A turn of running away can force the enemy to have to run, and this should always be putting him into a place where the rest of your army can threaten him. The Flash Gitz will have range in the following turn.

Assault Strategies:

Since generally the Flash Gitz form a decent bodyguard to an HQ model, the combined unit should do fairly well in close combat, especially if the target has been softened up a bit. Loads of attacks at good strength combined with a CC powerhouse like a Warboss or Zogwort should make an end of most targets, especially if you can get the charge.

However, a protracted combat is not a combat where the Flash Gitz want to be. What you need to do then is keep the Flash Gitz for your second wave of assaults, playing cleanup as they move up the field finishing off the mayhem that your other units have caused. Get them into assaults they can win handily and then get them back out. If you have the option to multi assault, so that the Warboss nails a hard target while the Flash Gitz nail a softer one, you’ll be able to break two targets at once. Also keep two Flash Gitz on hand to charge at whatever unit the Warboss hits; they can force the engaged enemy to direct attacks at the Flash Gitz rather than the Warboss which will help keep your momentum going.

Consolidate away from the enemy unless it is unlikely you’ll get charged by advancing. The Flash Gitz can afford to wait a while; they can shoot the enemy till they close with them, or until you throw something else into combat. Even a small number of Flash Gitz is a threat to an enemy force, so keep them alive as long as possible.

Don’t be afraid to assault vehicles with a rear AV of 10, or walkers who are AV10 all around. The high number of attacks will power through in the end, especially on the charge. What you need to avoid are Dreadnoughts and walkers built for combat, since they will do a large amount of damage to the unit and receive almost none in return.

Finally:

Flash Gitz are not the most reliable unit in the codex and should be considered a fun alternative to some of our other options. That being said, there’s no reason they can’t be fielded effectively. Keep some of the above guidelines in mind when using this unit and I’m sure you’ll find they offer enjoyable tactical challenges with the potential for a good payoff.

This post will serve as a link to Ork Battle Reports, where a member has posted several battle reports within a single link for accessability. Generally this will be reserved for sequential battle reports - those which feature the same list used against several enemies. If you have a link you'd like included, send it to me via PM and I'll gladly add it in.

This will keep this sort of batrep accessible from the Ork page while not cluttering up the Ork forum with batreps that ought to be posted in the Battle Report forum.

Those included below can serve as an example for others that might get included:

Ork Transport TacticaThis tactica is meant as a guide to designing and playing transport-heavy ork armies. I mean to convince you that these lists are fun, competetive, and easy to make. You want to play one!

Modelling and Real Life IssuesFirst of all, transport armies have some advantages that make them more fun for the hobbyist. Green tide (180+ boy) lists sound cool. But consider how much time it would take to move those models around the table. Consider how many hours of your life would be spent painting hundreds of identical boys... An ork transport army has a much smaller model count than most ork lists, while still being very effective on the table. It takes very little time to move 7 or 8 vehicles around. You don't even have to get your boys out until they've disembarked. The early, boring turns of the game will go faster. You will spend more of your time in the fun part of the game (cc and short-range shooting).

Another consideration is money. Ork vehicles are very easy to make yourself. Just about any cheap walmart plastic car/tank/firetruck can be a trukk or wagon with some plasticard and rivets. You don't need as many ork models because the army is smaller, and many of those models are fun to paint tanks. It's actually much cheaper and easier to assemble and paint a transport army than a walking army.

Making the Most of BoysAs an ork player, the majority of the models in your force will likely be ork boys. Boys are cheap in points and dollars, can be fielded in very large numbers, and look really good on paper. Since you're likely taking boys, it's important to decide how to get the most from them. The strength of the ork boy is in his low cost for some impressive stats. Weapon skill and attacks are great for such a cheap model. Combined with furious charge, you can potentially deal a very large amount of damage for the points.

The downside here is that ork initiative and armor are very poor. Combined with bad leadership, this means that you can easily lose combats and break. With initiative 2, orks are usually run down and wiped out. If the mob is fearless, it will be eaten up after a lost combat by No Retreat. From this we can conclude that orks MUST win cc often and this is easier when the ork player is charging.

Why Walk When You Can Ride?Ork transports are open-topped, meaning boys in moving ork transports can still disembark and charge. Even better, they can disembark from any point on the transport. Transported orks effectively have a charge range boost of 8" or so (12" move instead of 6", 2" disembark) over walking orks. That's on top of increased speed on turns before the charge! Transported orks will hit combat faster than walking orks and they will more often be the ones doing the charging.

The transport doesn't just provide protection for the boys by delivering them to close combat faster and limiting the time an opponent has to shoot at them. The vehicles armor value also directly protects the boys from shooting and assault. Even AV10 is much more resilient to shooting than your boy's T-shirt armor. As long as your boys are embarked they cannot be assaulted. This is great, because you do not want opponents to charge boys! Without your furious charge and assault bonus, boys are far more likely to lose combat. A boy in a trukk is simply better than a walking boy!

Trukks vs BattlewagonsThere are three ork transport options. Trukks and looted wagons cost about the same, but Looted wagons have the annoying Don't Press Dat! rule. DPD can randomly prevent your boys from disembarking, so we can ignore looted wagons as a serious transport option. The real choice is battlewagon vs trukk.

Trukks are fast vehicles, giving you an extra 6" movement. The trukk is a little cheaper per transported boy. Assuming 12 boys, nob, power klaw, and a trukk; you're paying under 12pts per fast moving boy. A battlewagon with no guns or anything with 20 boys, nob and klaw runs just over 12pts per boy. Trukks have the extremely favorable Ramshackle special rule. When your trukk is destroyed, there is a chance your boys will get out with no casualties or gain free movement from the scatter result.

Battlewagons are tougher vs shooting and can transport larger boy units that remain fearless longer. Combined with their higher price, you will not have to field as many wagons for the same number of boys. Thus your army's KPs will be lower. Battlewagons are also better at tank shocking. The best option may be to mix the two. Battlewagons are big enough to block LOS to trukks, so you can make a turn one wagon wall followed up by several trukks. On turn two, split up your vehicles to assault their targets. Destroying AV14 vehicles at range is not easy in 40k!

Transporting ElitesThe other place Trukks can shine is when transporting very small units that don't fill up a battlewagon. Small units of Nobs, Meganobs, burnas, or tankbustas can be stowed in cheap trukks to give them inexpensive mobility. Large units of burnas, tankbustas, or shoota boys are better transported in Battlewagons because they will spend more time embarked. The battlewagon won't need to move flat out and can benefit more from red paint job to move 7" and still let it's shooty cargo fire.

To Upgrade or Not To Upgrade; That is the Question!Trukk upgrades are relatively expensive. The trukk is so cheap, spending extra points rapidly makes it less efficient. Also, trukks tend to be destroyed a lot. Spending extra on a vehicle that likely won't live long enough to use the upgrades is a bad decision. The only upgrade that really shines on trukks is reinforced ram. It lets you reroll dangerous terrain checks. This effectively allows you to ignore area terrain with your trukks and just move where you need to. It also lets the trukk tank shock and gives an armor bonus vs death or glory. You will often have empty trukks driving around late in the game. Tank shocking gives them a whole extra use. I would always take rams.

Wagon Upgrades, Mandatory!Battlewagons are a bit more worthwhile to upgrade because their base cost is so high. At a minimum, wagons should have at least one or two weapons. Otherwise, the first weapon destroyed result on them will immobilize the wagon. Big Shootas are the cheapest gun, so take them. Reinforced ram is also very good for wagons, you will need to move through terrain in most games. Deff rolla is just a better ram. It rarely kills much, but costs a lot.

Red paint job is more cost effective on the wagon, since it costs less and the wagon might be transporting shooty units that necessitate moving slower. RPJ is not worthwhile when your transport is moving 12" (you'll never notice that extra inch). It is very worthwhile when moving 6", though. Grot riggers and armour plates are good, but not essential. They marginally raise your wagon's survivability. My wagons are typically destroyed much more often than immobilized or stunned.

Grabbin Klaw is really excellent. Your wagon is getting up close to the enemy anyway, so the GK will get used. Like a ram on trukks, the GK gives a wagon a new job in your army. Immobilizing enemy vehicles makes them extremely vulnerable to attack by your power klaws. This is huge for a transport army!

Boarding plank is useful when transporting an IC with a klaw that doesn't need to get out. A big mek with kustom forcefield and klaw works very well with a boarding plank. Stikkbomb chukka is a metagame choice dependent on how many initiative 2 and 3 armies you play against. The chukka is the cheapest way to give your boys grenades.

So, keep your upgrades minimal and tailor them to the cargo that transport will be carrying. Generally, rams for trukks, ram + big shoota + grabba klaw on wagons.

Jobs for Your TransportsTransports are for transporting. You can rig up battlewagons and looted wagons as shooting platforms, but they'll have to move slowly to fire their guns and the firepower isn't much better for this army than other options. So guns on your transports are merely there to be knocked off.

First and foremost, transports move your boys into good charging positions. If transporting units with template weapons, transports move them into good flaming positions. Leave enough room for your whole mob to disembark and plan out how much power it will take to destroy an enemy. Your transports are so mobile, you can easily overpower a flank. Decide which component of your enemy's army is the most fragile and most dangerous to you. Kill off those portions fist. An ork transport army is very very strong when making it's initial charges, after that you just need to ride the game out. Strike so hard that the enemy doesn't have the power left to win.

For objective missions, you need to take over one or two objectives with your boys. Spreading them out makes the boys weaker, so concentrate them on the objectives you plan to hold. Then send your empty transports over to the objectives you can't take. Trukks and wagons can tank shock enemies off of their objectives and contest them, giving you an easy win.

Kustom Force Fields; Your New Best FriendKFF's add a cover save to any vehicles in range. A basic KFF big mek runs under 100 pts, a very good deal when he is protecting multiple vehicles. The KFF makes up for the general fragility of open-topped vehicles. The KFF also protects your boys from explosions. Those fragile transports explode a LOT, particularly with the ramshackle rule (all destroyed results roll on ramshackle). Now your orks have a nice cover save, limiting casualties if a vehicle blows up next to them. A transport army should always have one, and he should be protected in the early turns.

The KFF works better in larger transports, so put him in your largest battlewagon. This will increase the effective distance the KFF can cover. In most games, one KFF in a wagon can protect your whole army. Since you're bringing a KFF anyway (you are right?), you might as well saturate your army with vehicles. In addition to transports, buggies and trakks fit in really well with this army list. Keep them close to the KFF and they are fairly survivable, too.

Unwinnable Melee; Diversify Your Units!You can field an army of nothing but boys in trukks and wagons, but it's boring and one-dimensional. Boys are not the answer to every situation. They are very strong on the charge, but your transported ork mobs will be fairly small. Units with lots of attacks can kill so many orks that you won't win combat vs them. You'll be striking last in melee most of the time. Taking large casualties kills your ability to strike back, resulting in lost combat and slaughtered boys. Khorn berzerkers, black templars, striking scorpions, other orks. These kinds of units need a different approach. There's two great options.

Use your own heavy hitters: Nobs and Meganobs. Nobs are tough and killy. They will take fewer casualties, are more likely to win cc, and chase troublesome units off of objectives. They have massed klaws that trivialize heavy infantry armor. They can be scoring with a warboss. You should have at least one unit of these.

The other option is to soften up elite units with shooting. Your shooting options are lootas, shoota boys, and various flamer templates. Lootas are more difficult to use in a transport army because you are bringing a ton of LOS blocking vehicles with you. Making full use of the lootas range may not be possible. Shoota boys can be transported and do their shooting before a charge. Mixing in some shoota boys is a nice option, but like all orks they are streaky because of their low bs. The best fire support option imo is templates.

Welcome to the Orky BBQOrk ballistic skill is irrelevant when using templates. They always hit, therefore they are always effective if you can get them into the right position. With open-topped ork vehicles positioning is easy. Even better, you can stack all your templates on top of each other from a transport. This makes templates efficient even vs smaller elite units.

Burnas, nobs, and meganobs can and should bring lots of templates. Burning fragile units like orks or genestealers in cover with multiple templates can remove dozens of enemy models in one turn. Even tougher units like berzerkers will take heavy casualties. With their numbers reduced, these units present a much smaller threat to your charging orks. Template weapons are fairly cheap and can be taken in huge numbers: nobs, manz, burnas, trakks, kans, dreads, kommandos can all bring burnas or skorchas. Including a few of these units is an insurance policy that makes your list stronger.

Dealing With VehiclesEventually, you will have to kill enemy vehicles. Orks do not have access to melta weapons, monstrous creatures, or chainfists. What we do have is power klaws. Lots and lots of power klaws. Field a power klaw nob in every boys mob. Most vehicles have AV10 rear armor, so regular boys + a power klaw on the charge is often good enough. Plan to kill most vehicles with boys mobs.

Tough vehicles like monoliths, land raiders, and walkers need a more powerful solution. Massed power klaws or S10 power klaws can kill them with a little luck. S10 power klaws can come from ork walkers, although slower than your transports. Adding some kans or dreads is a decent support option, but first consider the warboss. A warboss with powerklaw provides 5 or 6 S10 attacks on a fast platform. Put him on a bike or in a transport and hunt tanks.

Massed power klaws are fielded in nob or MANZ units. MANZ are the more points-efficient way to field klaws. A unit of 3 or 4 MANZ put out a ton of S9 klaw attacks for a reasonable price. MANZ can be deceptively fragile, but that doesn't matter if they're charging a tank that doesn't hit back. An exception to this is walkers, which are hit on front armor and hit back at a higher initiative than your claws. Walkers can be a serious threat, so try to avoid them or shoot their rear armor with fast rokkit units. A nasty trick vs walkers is to immobilize them with a grabbin klaw. The walker can't move or charge to hit your battlewagon. Two or three GK's can keep a dread (or kan unit) pinned down for a whole game.

Lootas are the least mobile of these options, but they are very powerful against light vehicles. Grabba klaws can be fielded on transports you're taking anyway, making them a very good choice for this army. Rokkits are highly innaccurate and expensive on trukks and wagons. Instead take them on kans, war buggies, war trakks, defcoptas, and tankbustas that field BS3, twin-linked, or massed rokkits that are still very mobile. Move around to hit rear armor, then stun or immobilize vehicles so your klaws can finish them off. Your shooty units are also good for handling those annoying walkers.

Other Fast UnitsI really haven't mentioned stormboys, bikers, or nob bikers. These units are all fast and can add to your transport list. But these units don't do much more than your transported boys and nobs. Bikes can be hidden behind transports and stay mobile the entire game, but they're more expensive. Stormboys can move over your transports for rear attacks, but aren't scoring. Sprinkle in these units if you like, but they aren't necessary.

Building a ListThe backbone of a transport list should be KFF mek, trukk/battlewagon boys mobs, massed klaw unit or klaw warboss, massed template unit, and a vehicle immobilizer unit. Add in more trukk boys for more flexible scoring, add in more battlewagon boys to conserve kill points.

“So yoo tinks ya wantz to be an ork? Well, Orks haz got to be da biggest, da baddest, and da greenest there iz! We don’t just let any little runt into the WAAAGH! So if yoo tink you got what it takes, I’ll tell ya how ta get started. Listen good yooz!”

Orks can be one of the most powerful armies in Warhammer 40k. They can also be one of the most fun to collect. They are relatively straight forward to play, often relying on brute strength and numerical superiority to carry the day. However, they can also be capable of what they like to call “low cunnin”. The variety of Ork units and configurations for them allows you to build whatever sort of army appeals to you.

If you are new to orks, and especially if you are new to Warhammer 40k, I recommend you start your army by purchasing the Assault on Black Reach starter set. Along with Codex: Orks, this box will get you playing in no time. Even better, find a friend to buy a box as well, trading your Space Marine figures from your box for the orks he has in his. With only these models you will be well on your way to building a mighty Ork horde.

Part One: The Call to Arms:

Nothing motivates me to game more than seeing a well painted army; and nothing motivates me to paint my own figures more than playing a few games. The symbiotic nature of these two aspects of this hobby means that you are likely to find yourself assembling your army in stages. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this; in fact I encourage it. Building and painting an entire army can become very repetitive after awhile, so stopping every now and again to play a game is a great way to keep yourself motivated. It will also help you decide exactly how you want your army to evolve. If, for example, you are working towards a 2000 point army, you might want to play a game (or several) at half that point total. These games will help you identify strengths and weaknesses in your army, allowing you to make informed decisions about which units you need to add in order to make the army better.

The first step towards getting your army ready for battle is assembly. Remove the pieces of your figures from the sprue, making sure to carefully trim away any excess flash. Once you have done this, you can glue your model together, posing it in whatever way you see fit. I recommend assembling your orks in stages, in order to diversify the way they look. Try not to repeat the same combination of torso, head and arms on more than one model. This allows each ork to have a small measure of individuality.

Once you have your models assembled, its time to start painting! There are many methods and theories for how to paint an army; the method presented here is how I painted my own orks. I began by base-coating all of my figures using a flat black spray paint. I plan to paint my figures “inside out”, beginning with the deepest recesses and working towards the more prominent surfaces. For this reason, I will be starting with dark colors, working towards lighter shades as I go.

Because I want to see an ocean of green on the tabletop, I decided to work on the flesh of my orks before moving on to anything else. Orks have a great texture to their flesh, with bulging muscles that provide a lot of physical contrast. I wanted to make sure my painting enhanced this visually, so I chose to paint my orks’ flesh in three layers.

The first layer was done by making an improvised “wash” of 1 part Chaos Black, 2 parts Snot Green, and 3 parts water. Instead of mixing Chaos Black and Snot Green, you could use Dark Angels Green; I just didn’t have any on hand at the time. I liberally applied my mixture all over the flesh of my orks, allowing it to pool in the creases between the bulging muscles. After the initial coat of green dried, I went back with pure Snot Green, thinned out with just a little water. I used a technique known as overbrushing to apply this layer to the raised surfaces of the orks’ flesh, keeping it out of the creases. For more information on overbrushing (and drybrushing, which I use next), see White Dwarf # 345. After the second coat was complete, the contours of the Orks muscles are very well defined:

For the third and final layer, I drybrushed a half and half mix of Snot Green and Scorpion Green onto the most prominent parts of the orks’ flesh: the apex of their bulging muscles, and the ridges of their faces. I chose not to go with pure Scorpion green because its just too light for my taste. By applying very light coats, I prevented this final layer from looking spotty. When I was done, the flesh looked like this:

(Sorry, my camera isn't very good. You should be able to see the detail of his cheeks and such though.)

Now, at this point a decision was required. What sort of paint scheme do I want for my army? After looking through my codex and any other material I could find, I decided to go with a black and red paint scheme, inspired in part by the pictures of the Ork Kommandos on page 75 of Codex: Orks. The great thing about this choice was that a significant portion of each of my figures would already be complete. Any surface that I want to be black already is, saving me significant time in getting my army painted.

I could go on with a detailed rundown of how I finished painting my army, but this article is ment to be far more than a painting tutorial. Instead, it is time to move on to the main focus of the article; creating an unstoppable WAAAGH!

If you followed my suggestion and purchased the Assault on Black Reach starter box, you have roughly 500 points worth of orks. If you bought a second, or convinced a friend to buy one and swap figures with you, you are more or less ready to assemble your first 1000 point army. My first 1000 point army features figures exclusively from two boxes of AoBR, though I did proxy a few models not included. In order to build this army without any proxies, you will also need the following items:

1 Plastic Kit containing 5 Nobz ($25)1 Painboy ($15)

If you managed to find a friend to split boxes with you, your first 1000 point army will only cost you $100 (at the time of this writing), roughly half of what other players will pay to build an army of equal size. Not too bad huh?

Here is the army list I came up with to try out my new orks at 1000 points:

Now, writing a hypothetical army list doesn’t do you much good if you don’t try it out, right? So, orks in hand, I challenged my buddy to a game against his Space Marines. When he found out what I was playing, he laughed with demonic glee, telling me that he was going to annihilate my swarms of pathetically armored xenos. My reply to his claim? WAAAGH!!!

Due to this battle being fought in the middle of an Army outpost in Iraq instead of a Gaming Center, I must apologize in advance for the ghetto game “table” and terrain. We work with what we have!

He more or less attempted to customize his army for fighting off my horde of greenskins! Would the orks survive the storm of firepower long enough to come to grips with the enemy? Only time would tell.

We rolled the mission, and wound up with Annihilation and a Pitched Battle Deployment. He went first, and I followed, announcing that my Deffkoptas would be held in reserve to outflank. After we deployed, the “table” looked like this:

Deployment:

The cardboard box in the middle represented a building that counted as impassible terrain and blocked line of sight. Everything else was area terrain providing a 4+ cover save. From my left to my right I deployed my Nobz, and the two squads of boyz. His deployment, from left to right: Whirlwind, Scout Snipers, Predator, Sicarius, Sternguard, Whirlwind, Tactical Squad.

Turn 1:

Sicarius, the Sternguard, and the Tactical squad all advanced towards my position. The Whirlwind on the left aimed for my left boyz squad, but scattered onto the Nobz, causing one unsaved wound. The Snipers failed utterly thanks to Cybork bodies and Feel No Pain. The Predator did not live up to its name, killing only a single ork boy. The Whirlwind on the right faired better, killing five boyz in the right squad. I advanced everything, but had nothing in range to shoot or assault. The boyz on the left side attempted to cut back towards the center, to put the solid building between them and the Predator. I was hoping to use both squads of boyz to gain local superiority on the right side of the board. It didn’t work out so well, as you will see.

End of Turn 1:

Score: Orks: 0, Space Marines: 0

Turn 2A:

Everybody but Sicarius decides to sit still and shoot, except for the Snipers, who tried to run back into the woods to evade the Nobz. The left Whirlwind and the Predator combine fire on the Nobz, managing to remove the already wounded Nob, but causing no further harm. Things did not go as well on the right side. The Sternguard, Tactical Marines, and the second Whirlwind combined to all but wipe out the far right mob of boyz, leaving only the Nob, who somehow managed to pass his morale check.

End of Turn 2A:

Score: Orks: 0, Space Marines: 0

Turn 2B:

The Deffkoptas fail to show up; I guess they were too busy enjoying the scenic route around the battlefield. The lone Nob charges ahead, as do the other two squads. The Nob reaches the Tactical Marines, but is struck down before he even gets to take a swing. The Tactical Marines consolidate towards the center of the board.

End of Turn 2B:

Score: Orks: 0, Space Marines: 1

Turn 3:

The scouts decide to stand and shoot against the Nobz, scoring a single unsaved wound. The Whirlwind adds a second, killing the Nob, but the Predator fails miserably, missing with both Autocannon shots, and half the Heavy Bolter shots. The other half fail to cause any wounds. The rest of his infantry maneuver for a shot against the second squad of boyz, but only the Sternguard are able to fire, killing three.

In my turn, the Deffkoptas decide to show up on the left flank, behind the Whirlwind. They blow it away, and the explosion takes out one Scout hiding in the woods, and also causes one wound to the nearest Deffkopta. I move, shoot and charge both the Sternguard and Sicarius with my boyz, which was a mistake. Sicarius kills two orks, robbing me of 8 attacks. The rest of the orks fail completely, even the Nob. Not a single wound got through the armor of the Space Marine Veterans, and the Nob rolled 1’s to wound with his Power Fist. In return, the Sternguard kill another 4 orks, dropping them below the fearless threshold. With a -6 morale penalty, they break and run. The Nobz on the other hand, do exactly what I want them to do. They charge the Scouts, swinging 30 times at initiative 4, plus 13 Power Klaw attacks, which ended up being totally unnecessary. The Scouts get wiped out, and the Nobz consolidate further into the woods, towards the Predator.

Sorry, I forgot the camera after turn 2!

Score: Orks: 2, Space Marines: 1

Turn 4:

The Predator turns to face West, and then backs up towards the center of the board. The Tactical Squad and the Sternguard move to support it, firing off a couple pot shots at my fleeing boyz. The Predator shoots at the Deffkoptas, killing off the wounded one, and wounding a second. I respond by advancing both my units towards the Predator. The Deffkoptas manage to shake it, and the Nobz stay just inside the edge of the woods nearest his tank.

Score: Orks: 2, Space Marines: 1

Turn 5:

He moves his troops to try to support the Predator, but they are not able to get close enough to engage my forces. The Predator does not move. I maneuver the Deffkoptas for a shot against its side armor, and manage to blow it away. At the end of my turn, we roll for continuation, but the game ends.

Final Score:

Orks: 3, Space Marines: 1 (The boyz were never wiped out and didn’t make it off the table.)

Post Battle Analysis:

In spite of facing an army customized for combating hordes, the Orks were able to fight their way to victory. I made some mistakes along the way, but so did my opponent. For my first game with a new army, I was very pleased with the results. The Nobz with the Painboy proved to be insanely resilient, confirming my decision to buy the figures necessary to replace my proxies. With that decided, one question remained. What next?

With a core army assembled, it’s now time to decide how to expand. Based on lessons learned from my game against my buddy’s Space Marines, I have identified what I believe to be the key weaknesses of this army. They are:

FragilitySpeed (or rather, lack of it)

In order to make this army better, I need to find a way to reduce these weaknesses. I thoroughly examined my Codex for ideas, hoping to make the army stronger without significantly altering its composition. I know that Nob Bikers are highly competitive, but for now I want to focus on hordes of infantry.

For my initial 500 point expansion, this is what I have decided to do:

The extra Slugga Boyz will allow me to fill up the two squads I already have; keeping them alive long enough to reach the enemy lines. With the addition of three trukks loaded up with Orks, I am bound to get something into combat with the enemy while my other squads move to support. The added mobility will be especially good for the Nobz, who are the real powerhouses in the army.

To reach a full 2000 points, I think I would eventually like to add the following:

(235) Kommandos x12 w/ Burna x2 plus Boss Snikrot.

(265) Stormboyz x 15 plus Boss Zagstruk.

Total: 500 points

By going this route I voluntarily shy away from any significant ranged firepower in favor of maximizing my hand to hand combat capabilities. Incorporating these two specialist units into the mix also gives me some extra tricks I can surprise the opponent with. I think this will be a fun army that can perform well.

If the units I have chosen to expand my own army do not appeal to you, by all means, go back your codex and find something that does. Perhaps you would rather have some significant ranged firepower, which I have deliberately neglected in favor of close combat. If that is something you want, I recommend this article for further reading. For now, understand that all I have given you is a template; a framework on which you can begin to build your own Warband.

Conclusion:

Starting a new army is a process. By choosing orks, you have already taken the first step. I have tried to give you a roadmap to success, by providing a step by step guideline for making your initial purchase, initial figure assembly and a simple painting technique to make your greenskins look sharp, no matter what paint scheme you chose. Next I provided a sample army list you can use to familiarize yourself with the units available to the orks, and I even showed you how I myself applied that list in my first ever battle using an ork army. Finally, I have tried to show you how to go about expanding your ork army into a truely mighty warhost. The codex is full of interesting and diverse units, so there really is something for everyone. Its up to you to decide how to proceed from here. Good Luck!

Spearheads sucks for horde orks. Anyone who tells you otherwise hasn't looked at the math or played it out. Out of the three standard deployments, this is the one where your opponent should be most gleeful over. Speed freaks and other less numerous lists are not impacted, but horde ork players are definitely hurt by this deployment.

Why?

The simple answer is: space.

Not only are you given a deployment area that is approximately 100 square inches less, but you also have a MUCH smaller frontage across where your forces are closest to the enemy's deployment zone (24 inches in pitched battle and spearhead). I like to call this available area a "front". Rather than a pitched battle, where you have all 72 (the length of a standard board) inches as a front, you have only about 18 inches as your starting front. This intrinsically favors smaller more elite armies as this will force our more numerous slow forces to attack along a narrow avenue of approach. In an army that should contain over a hundred infantry models plus assorted walkers, space in general and space at the front line in particular are always valuable. In spearhead, such commodities become even more precious. A slipup in deployment in this situation can (and often will) cost you the game.

‘Waiting In Line To Die’ Vs. ‘Two Fist Punching’

While speed freak players crow about spearhead making horde armies unplayable, we all know they are about as reliable as the silly little trucks they drive around. There ARE ways of getting around the disadvantages of spearhead.

Where you have a narrower front, you obviously want to maximize your use of the available space. You can do this by deploying your units narrow and deep (likely 5 orks across at the front) and putting their brother units right next to them at the front. That way if one unit gets shot up, there will still be 2-3 other units advancing at the same pace. You will still be bunched up if you try for this, so make sure your KFF mek is within 6" of as many units as possible in order to provide them with a cover save.

What you want to avoid at all cost is attacking in waves, which is a common mistake by newer players (including yours truly) especially in missions with a narrow front. "Attacking in waves", it certainly sounds nice doesn't it? The idea of endless “waves” of orks crashing into imperial lines is one of the iconic images of 40k. The problem is that you want your opponent to have "army-wide" shooting phases only in the first two turns (at most) of a game. After that, all or part of his lines should be engulfed by orks and unable to fire. The worst thing you can do is deploy in wide thin units so that only one unit is at the front at a time. Your opponent will be able to concentrate fire and annihilate your forward units and then have time for another shooting phase before your other units are upon him. Basically, your units will be "waiting in line" for their turn to die. Avoid this at all cost.

The bottom line is that most opponents will not have nearly enough firepower to deal with multiple 30-man mobz at a time, but most decent lists can handle one if they concentrate firepower.

Consider it like this: if you are trying to punch a one armed man who is good at blocking, you wouldn't try attacking with one fist at a time, would you? You'd know that he'd only be able to block one of your fists, so you'd strike with both fists at once. In the same way, you want to set up so that as many mobz as possible reach the enemy line at the same time. This is the horde way of fighting - you accept that your opponent will be able to stop some of your troops because you know that he won't be able to stop them all.

Deployment Example 1:

In that particular deployment, I have my three boy mobz on the front. They are more or less screened by the kanz and covered by the meks KFF, so despite my bunching, I have a good chance to arrive with enough boyz to overwhelm the opposition. I am punching with not two, but three fists (mobz) at once. The battlewagon will move around to whatever side my opponent has deployed the hardest units on, ready to deploys its cargo of nobz and warboss to smash things. The lootaz anchor my flanks and prevent annoying things like skimmers and transports from threatening the flanks of my mobz or redeploying the enemy army away from my chosen path.

Later Turns:Now understand a chosen path is only for my forward elements. When facing ordinance it is totally fine to spread out into the side quarters or further back. Indeed, it may be useful to do so for objectives. What you should avoid is sending mobz out to deal with infiltrators or outflankers that occupy the neutral quarters. Boyz are too slow to send after low-priority targets. A clever opponent will often use units like this to tricking you into dividing your forces and ‘punching with only one fist at once’. The mission of the boy mobz is really simple: send them towards the largest mass of enemies and watch the fun begin.

Deployment Example 2:

In this deployment, the boy mobz are spread out in long thing lines. This is not an entirely bad thing. This is a great way to get a cover save for a unit and you'll certainly be spread out enough that a ordinance will have little effect (though it won’t miss either). But the disadvantages are massive. In addition to the "waiting in line" phenomenon I mentioned earlier, your boyz will be spread out enough that a well timed charge by a unit of assault troops has a chance of decimating a mob by attacking straggling orks to one flank or another.

Also your opponent will be able to concentrate his anti-infantry firepower on the forward mob only, trimming down to manageable size (or breaking it) before moving on to the next mob. Your boyz will be “waiting in line to die”.

Conclusion

So there you have it, what I hope is a complete examination of the dos and don’ts of deploying a horde army in the spearhead deployment zones. It is not exhaustive, but if you remember the concept of “punching with many fists at once” rather than “waiting in line to die”, I’m confident that you will be able to wipe the smarmy grin that lit up your opponents face when you rolled a 3-4 for deployment.

Good luck!

« Last Edit: July 3, 2009, 08:40:31 AM by Gutstikk »

Logged

If you hold your entire army in reserve, you automatically forfeit the right to complain when your reserve rolls screw you.

Terminators are one of the most iconic of 40k units. They're powerful, expensive, and cool. They've even inspired their own acronym for models that share a similar profile: TEQ. With the new Space Marine Codex out, and the availability of 3++ saves at no additional points cost, they're also quite competitive. So what's an Ork to do? Well, there are essentially three ways of dealing with Terminators: kill them, feed them, or outrun them.

Kill Them.Killing Terminators with 5++ saves has never been too great a problem. TEQ’s are certainly a fundamental guideline you consider when you're building an army list, but they represent a problem that the Boyz solve rather well. Even a Trukk Boy squad of Slugga Choppas (11 Boyz and a PK Nob) ought to be able to charge into 5 regular Termies and come out victorious. Even in the extended rounds of combat the PK Nob can be expected to kill just about 1 Terminator a round (0.833). Unfortunately, the introduction of Storm Shield/Thunderhammer Termies makes this method much less reliable; a PK is only half as effective against Termies with a 3++ as those with a 5++. Indeed, a PK Nob goes from a comfortable 1.11 TEQ kills on the charge to a dismal 0.55 SS/TH TEQ kills.

There are two methods for killing Terminators: you can pierce their armour, or make them take an abundance of saves. When Termies only had a 5+ invulnerable save there was more of a debate on the merits of quality versus quantity of shots. Since there's only a one-in-six difference between a SS/TH Termie's armour save and his invulnerable save, the choice is more stark. Your army is going to be able to force more than twice as many regular saves against the Terminators than those that pierce their armour. Because of this, you're usually going to want to use weight of fire to bring them down. Two notable exceptions, however: the SAG and PK attacks. Even with 3+ invulnerable saves a lucky SAG shot can bring down a Termie or two, and a charging PK Nob gives you a little better than a 50/50 chance to add one more kill to a combat. (I’ll make special mention of Burnas later on in the article).

How you force all those saves is largely army dependent, in most armies however, it will require multiple units. You can match the Termies point-for-point and throw a 30 Boy squad into them with reasonable chances of success. This approach has a number of weaknesses, however. It can be difficult to get most of your Boyz in the “combat zone” where they can execute their attacks. It’ll also leave your squad open to counter attack on your opponents turn, which may not only decimate your squad, but can save the Terminators as well. Lastly, a squad of Termies with a mix of Lightning Claws and Thunderhammers posses the greatest challenge for Boyz. The Claws provide more attacks and will strike before your Boyz, potentially cutting down on your attacks, while the Thunderhammer Termies soak up your PK attacks.

A more reliable method of killing Terminators is the one-two punch: shoot them up and then charge them. Knocking off a few Termies before charging in will lesson your casualties and lower the chances that the combat will extend into your next turn. However, this tactic suffers from it’s own method of success; focusing your attacks on one unit means you won’t be targeting the rest of your opponent’s army. This may seem elementary, but you shouldn’t forget that some generals include hard to kill units simply to distract their enemies from the rest of their army.

Anyway, here are some numbers to give you some scale of what it takes to kill a single Terminator. This is not a terribly helpful reference, however, as the point-costs listed do not include squad upgrades and options that may be normally included in these units. I present it only so that you might have a quick, shorthand estimate of what a group of models might accomplish on average.

*Despite my aforementioned caveat the Nobz entry cost is more deceptive than others. I assumed they were taken with Cybork bodies and accounted for it within their cost. However, I gave the Nobz the benefit of a Waaagh! Banner for the purposes of the Mathhammer, but this was not included in their individual costs. Nor did I account for a Painboy or other PKs that might be included in a typical squad. I wanted simply to catalogue the effectiveness of regular Nobz charging at initiative.

Feed them.This is a much more simple concept and doesn’t require a lot of space to explain. Just give them a unit to kill. The idea behind the tactic is to stall for time. You allow the Termies to eat a unit that you deem the least important to your success. You might not be able to focus your whole army to killing them yet (or ever), but you can hold them off from killing a valuable shooting unit or an important scoring one. The ideal choices are probably Grotz and Shoota Boyz (especially mobs without PK Nobz), but you may be forced to use any unit that is no longer critical to your success.

If you’re primarily concerned with stalling for time you probably don’t want to charge the Terminators. Move up to surround the Termies, and try to keep them from moving towards the rest of your forces. You may shoot or run as required. There are cases where you might charge the Terminators even though you don’t expect to win. A largish Boy squad (around 20 strong) with most of the unit out of range to attack in CC may charge into Termies hoping just to hold them off for a few turns. You should remember that Grotz usually run the first round of combat, and that a Boy squad that get’s taken down below 11 models may flee from a badly lost combat. The worst thing you can do when you’re trying to stall for time is feed the Terminators a unit that they destroy in the first round giving them extra consolidation movement.

Usually feeding Termies is something you’ll do towards the latter half of a game. It’s useful when you’re more interested in keeping the Terminators at bay for a round or two so that you can secure an objective. You may also have need of it if they arrive up close or in your backfield from Deep Strike. Just keep in mind that you probably can’t afford to keep a Terminator squad tied up all game, but you don’t necessarily have to kill them in order to win.

Outrun them.Terminators are slow. A danger range of 12” isn’t very large, and a maximum movement rate of 6 + d6” won’t advance them at any great pace. You can simply walk/run your units away from them, knowing that unless you end your turn within 12” of them, they’ll never get to you. This is especially effective if you combine it with the Feeding tactic. Move your sacrificial unit in towards the Terminators and everyone else away. Isolating the Terminators effectively takes them out of the game, but remember that if they’re isolated on an objective they’re still keeping you off of it.

There are three ways of accelerating Terminators: Landraiders, Deep Strike, and Shrike. Landraiders are particularly difficult for Orks to deal with, and the ins and outs of handling them are the stuff of another tactica. However, in most cases it’s not efficient for the Terminators to get back into a Landraider after they’ve been disgorged. Often then, you just need to get the Termies out of the Landraider that first time. This can be done by simply charging the Landraider, or positioning a bait unit for them to charge. Once you’ve got them out you can retreat from them, kill them, or feed them more units as necessary.

Deep Strike is a less valuable tool for your opponent. It can deliver Terminators up close, but since they’re not able to charge the turn they arrive, they essentially leave the initiative up to you. As with Landraiders, once the Terminators have arrived from Deep Strike, they’re a slow unit, easily outmaneuvered. That said, Deep Strike allows Terminators to appear virtually anywhere on the board, and can be quite surprising. Try not to leave any unit unsupported unless you're willing to sacrifice it. A large unit of Lootas alone in the backfield of your army makes a tempting choice to Deep Strike near, and, since they can’t move and shoot, the Termies can effectively neutralize the Lootas just by appearing nearby.

Shrike is a problem. Terminators with Fleet are much harder to run away from, and increase they’re ability to engage the units they want to. You’re not likely to be able to isolate Termies under these conditions. Your opponent would have to make a fairly sizable mistake for Fleeting Terminators to be isolated for more than a couple of turns. You can still stall them with tar pits or kill them as usual, but I wouldn’t expect to outrun Terminators if you’re facing Shrike.

In practice the most effective methods for dealing with Terminators involve a combination of methods. You might tie them up for a round, and focus your whole army on them the next turn, or isolate them so that you can shoot outside their kill radius for a few turns. The trick to dealing with them is doing so on your terms. Give them the units you want them to kill, and focus fire on them when it suits your plans to do so.

On specific units.There are some units that deserve specific mention as potential counters to Terminators. Here are a few that I think merit special discussion.

Boyz.Looking at the kill chart I prepared you’ll note that Boyz are by far the most cost effective way of killing Terminators. Getting off a good charge can wipe out a 5 man Termie unit in a single round. The trouble is getting enough Boyz into the combat zone to maximize their charge. A charging Slugga Boy is twice as effective as a non-charging one, so it’s of the utmost importance that your Boyz see as much action as possible in that first round of combat. Charging out of a Battlewagon can do the trick, as can setting up a counter charge.

Bikes.Dakkagunz outrange the charge radius of Terminators. Bikes can also move as fast or faster than Termies even when they’re running. An opponent would be foolish to fall for it, but if you know your distances very well you could bait the Terminators by setting your Bikes up 12.5 or 13” away from the Termies. Depending on how close he was paying attention to the measurements when you’re shooting you might be able to kite the Termies around for a turn or two. The Bikes may only kill one Terminator per round (or less if they number less than 6), but being unable to engage an enemy unit that’s making kills can frustrate your opponent and may cause them to make mistakes.

Burnas.At first glance charging Terminators with Burnas using their Power Weapons seems like an ideal solution. It only takes 4 Burnas to get a kill on the charge, and a full squad will emerge victorious against a 5 man Termie squad after a round or two. However, how many Terminators would a Burna kill if he shoots and then charges? Obviously it depends on how many Termies the Burna can get under his template. If you’re going up against regular Terminators (with 5++ saves), you’re better off using the Power Weapon unless you can hit all 5 Terminators. That’s rarely going to happen. However, if a Burna Boy can hit even one TH/SS Terminator with his template he’ll average more kills than if he charged with the Power Weapon. If you can shoot the TH/SS go ahead and do it, it’s not a huge advantage, but every little bit helps.

Nobz.Nobz are one of our hardest units, and can krump most enemies we throw them at. However, Terminators are a great counter to Nobz. Terminators deny the Nobz their Feel No Pain, cause Instant Death, and have invulnerable saves to protect them from PKs. Nobz do generate a good number of attacks and can help contribute towards the weight of fire necessary to bring Termies down. However, you stand to lose multiple expensive models in the exchange. You don’t really want the combat to extend to Thunderhammer versus Power Klaw. I would only charge Terminators with Nobz if I was hoping to kill them off before the Thunderhammers could strike, and if they just had to die that turn.